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Since our inception, human beings have always tried to generalize and theorize things for their benefit. The first time he saw a fire, he was amazed. The moment it went out, he desperately wanted to start a new one.
But how could the accidental friction of two stones lead to the most important discoveries of the world?
Through hit and trial, and most importantly by relying on history, man recreated fire again. He found the uses of fire, from cooking food to warming houses or fending off enemies and predators.
By harnessing its nature and power, man became stronger and wiser. It was all because of history. Simply put, past experiences shape identity.
Many people contest that history is dead. They believe that what happened in the past does not foreshadow who we are and what we would become later on.
The question is: why is history important? The answer: We humans shape history. In return, history shapes us.
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How Has History Shaped Me
Every moment that has gone by is history. Every word is written anywhere in history, no matter it was about Science or a volume of poetry. Since the past affects the present, the causes and their underlying effects that we may face in the future, looking at and learning from history, our history, is very important.
But what is the starting point? For many, the study of wars and conflicts of the past serves as the requirements of history. There is no denying that the kings and queens of the past and their kingdoms shaped the geography of the world we see today.
Some want to study the march of learning science and technology because it has shaped our outlook on the present and the future. It is important to learn how history shapes who you are with an example.
I want to look at all the history as my history and how it shaped me.
Biological History
One to Many
From a single-celled organism, I evolved through hundreds of millennia and became a being with complex physiology and psychology before my identity shaped into what it became. I lived in caves and hunted and gathered food. I sought shelter during the rain and I hadn’t much thought about life or what would happen afterward.
The Settlements
That was my biological being. Later, I settled on the banks of rivers and started towns and cities. I came up with streets and marketplaces and I helped evolve a rudimentary society that became more than the sum of the things that made it.
The Fore-Fathers
After many centuries of war and peace, famine and prosperity, I was in America at the twilight of World War II.
I was still in biological code with my grandfather, but it was me. You could see me in him. I was close to who I am now. Years later, my father was born and I got a lot closer. In the roaring 90s, I was born.
It was me and that was my biological history.
Who Am I?
Now, my history shapes my identity. The color of my skin and hair, the making of my brain and the thoughts that run through it, the way I walk, the way I talk, it was all determined when I jumped out from the ocean and grew a pair of legs to walk on the earth.
My sexual or gender identity is what was set in motion yesterday and what I want to do today. The identity in turn shaped the future.
Everything I did back then hardwired my mind and memory, from evolution to becoming a community service member. I repeated what was beneficial and stayed away from what was harmful. That is how I got here.
Economic History
When I was living in the caves, hunting, and gathering to make ends meet, there was no economics, only need. Often it was fulfilled. But when it didn’t, I perished.
Barter
Later when I set up cities and towns, there were two many things that a man wanted but could not get himself. So, I exchanged what I wanted with what I had. Later, everyone came to know it as barter.
Gold & Riches
Then, I found precious metals like gold, silver, and so on. They were desirable and we started exchanging these metals for goods and works. It was going so well.
Then, cities evolved and became metropolitan. Needs gave the way for wants. Then, carrying all that gold and silver became a problem. I came up with paper currency.
That was a turning point. It changed everything, from how we used to commerce with each other to how we think of wealth.
From Socks to Crypto
When I was born into who I am today, the paper currency also lost its charm. It was cumbersome to carry wads of notes that could be snatched.
I carried notes in my pockets and socks. Then, came cards. It was not like anything of the past. Instead of carrying real value, it had implicit one from a mutual contract.
Now, I hold currencies and wealth virtually that do not occupy space. It is ever-ready to go out or come in with a click of my computer. All the precious metals in the world wish to become that but they can’t.
Political History
There was no politics when I jumped out of the ocean. There was none when I lived in the caves. It was brute force and it sufficed for our problems and needs. But when I settled down around the banks of the rivers, people started to talk, for money, for gender identity.
The Beginning
When resources become scarce, it was hard to declare the rightful owner. This is when dealings and deliberations started to rise. I was a community builder and my job was to build.
What was true and immutable got replaced by what seemed true and agreeable. This was the start of politics.
Kings & Queens
Later, kings and queens started and run their kingdoms, some from the ground up, others into the ground. I was there as a community builder. Every time they could not come up with a solution through politics, war was there to do the talking for them.
Then, one of us stood up and wanted to distribute everything among everyone equally. He was no community service member nor was it a family tradition. The idea sounded fantastic to many but was not practical.
Power
Now, we have institutions, and presidents and prime ministers have replaced kings and queens. Those who sit on the throne cannot do anything with impunity. Everyone is the master of his destiny and I love this diverse and inclusive community.
Cultural History
The culture was simple and life experiences were bland back then. The language was strictly functional but flawed. There was no apparel. There was no family tradition. We put on what we could not eat or what could survive the onslaught of time and tide, including personal memories.
The Apparel
In the cities and towns, we started spinning yarns and weaving cloth. This was the beginning. Everything from casual to fancy we made. We were proud of what we were making.
Cuisine
On the cuisine front, we experimented a lot and came up with delicious delicacies. They not only changed our palate but also helped our stomachs evolve.
From there, all the three things started to take off – the language, cuisine, and apparel.
At first, it was about conformity and a uniform outlook. Those who resorted to individualism met a sorry fate. Their sexual or gender identity started to hold roots.
The Now
Now, the center of the universe is neither the sun nor the earth. It is me. I am what I am. My history, as a community builder, shaped me to wear what I want, speak what I want, and eat what I want.
This is my cultural history; my self-identity!
Conclusion
There is no conclusion to history because there is no clear answer to this: How does history shape our future? It is always going and evolving from something legible and understandable to a pure enigma. My history is simple.
My past experiences shape the identity that I wear today. I was born from water and then crawled out of it to grow legs and become a complex being. This set a chain of events that never stopped and never will.
Our history shapes who we are and what we become as a result of what was set in motion centuries or millennia ago. That’s why it is important to learn and learn from history. It can reveal the past and can help us in finding solutions to the problem we are facing today.